Data is aggregated from public sources and may be incomplete or out of date. Always verify with primary sources before acting on any figure. See data sources.
HM Prison Kirkham is a Category D men's prison, located southwest of Kirkham in Lancashire, England. The prison is operated by His Majesty's Prison Service.
Safety: 4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 On arrival at HMP Kirkham, prisoners go through a comprehensive induction process. Transferring prisoners are checked by healthcare and given a first-night information pack prepared by the Partners of Prisoners (POPS) family support organisation. New prisoners are located away from the main camp in a two-storey building, allowing induction to take place in a calm [...]
Respect: 5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food 5.1.1 The major build programme approved in 2021 saw many projects completed during 2022, including: • Work to resurface roads and paths, lower kerbs etc as part of the disability audit, and to line-paint the car park was completed. • The new concept building was handed over in February and occupied in April. • The new concept building was handed over in February [...]
Purposeful activity: 7.1.1 Education was a main concern in our last report. However, the prison has taken significant steps to stabilise the management and improve the offer to prisoners. 7.1.2 The Novus contract was under review throughout the year, with the quality of content and management of staff being issues of concern. These were addressed with regular meetings with Novus. An education manager was appointed on [...]
Preparation for release: 7.3.1 Custodial managers were moved out of the OMU as a result of OMiC and replaced with an additional hub manager and dedicated prison offender managers (POMs). As a result, POMs are now more readily available to prisoners to deal with their concerns and progress their sentence plans, which has had a positive impact on the prisoners. 7.3.2 OMiC has been largely successfully rolled out over the [...]
Visiting
No visiting information available.
Mailing
No mailing information available.
Practical info
Contact the operator's website for inmate-specific procedures.
4.1 Reception and induction 4.1.1 On arrival at HMP Kirkham, prisoners go through a comprehensive induction process. Transferring prisoners are checked by healthcare and given a first-night information pack prepared by the Partners of Prisoners (POPS) family support organisation. New prisoners are located away from the main camp in a two-storey building, allowing induction to take place in a calm and more controlled environment. 4.1.2 New arrivals at Kirkham are from closed conditions and are inducted on day two into the life of an open prison. This process has returned to face-to-face meetings, with an induction officer in group sessions. The regime of an open prison is explained, together with opportunities for education and job training (outside and inside the prison), including release on a temporary licence (ROTL). Prisoners are advised on what is expected from them in an open prison. 4.1.3 Prisoners, on arrival, bring limited amounts of property. Remaining property is sent on by courier. Property of prisoners leaving Kirkham for another prison is forwarded with successfully, but property of incoming prisoners still suffers delay. 4.2 Suicide and self-harm, deaths in custody 4.2.1 There have been no deaths in custody. 4.2.2 There have been three incidents of self-harm during the year (three in 2021). One by ingestion, one cutting and one with the use of a ligature. 4.2.3 Five assessment, care in custody and teamwork (ACCT) documents were opened (eight in 2021). Three [...]
7.1.1 Education was a main concern in our last report. However, the prison has taken significant steps to stabilise the management and improve the offer to prisoners. 7.1.2 The Novus contract was under review throughout the year, with the quality of content and management of staff being issues of concern. These were addressed with regular meetings with Novus. An education manager was appointed on an interim basis; this is now a permanent post. Staffing issues and attendance dips and competing activities such as gym and paid work by prisoners were the main issues impeding attainment across the board. After some delay, an IT teacher is now in post. There have been similar difficulties in recruiting a teacher of mathematics, an area where performance is below standard. 7.1.3 Direct claims status has been regained, with the prison now able to issue its own qualifications without external accreditation. Prisoners are now working beyond level 2 qualifications, and progression pathways to level 3 and beyond are being explored. With a diverse prison population, the list of educational provision ranges from basic literacy, in conjunction with the Shannon Trust, to higher-level degree courses through the University of Central Lancashire and Lancaster University, funded mainly through the Prisoners’ Education Trust. 7.1.4 The library had difficulties re-establishing itself after the pandemic. Whilst experiencing a slow start, activities have improved, with Storybook Dads and Raising [...]
5.1 Accommodation, clothing, food 5.1.1 The major build programme approved in 2021 saw many projects completed during 2022, including: • Work to resurface roads and paths, lower kerbs etc as part of the disability audit, and to line-paint the car park was completed. • The new concept building was handed over in February and occupied in April. • The new concept building was handed over in February and occupied in April. • The major 18-month fire alarm project was completed in May. • The major 18-month fire alarm project was completed in May. • Hangar 4 was demolished in January and two billets (old ex-oil rig • Hangar 4 was demolished in January and two billets (old ex-oil rig accommodation) were demolished in May. • The new timbers building was completed in August – an amazing facility, • The new timbers building was completed in August – an amazing facility, complete with sound-proofed classrooms and an excellent ventilation system. 5.1.2 Funding of £10.5 million was approved in July for the replacement gymnasium, with work starting in October. The expected handover date is October 2023. 5.1.3 While operational prison capacity stands at 699, occupancy levels remain around 470. In early 2022 detailed plans were developed to manage the anticipated increase in numbers. However, with abscond rates increasing rapidly, ministers stopped further transfers to Kirkham for two weeks to identify and put plans in place to limit a recurrence. 5.1.4 Given the abscond spike, coupled with [...]
7.3.1 Custodial managers were moved out of the OMU as a result of OMiC and replaced with an additional hub manager and dedicated prison offender managers (POMs). As a result, POMs are now more readily available to prisoners to deal with their concerns and progress their sentence plans, which has had a positive impact on the prisoners. 7.3.2 OMiC has been largely successfully rolled out over the year. Meetings with prisoners are held 12 weeks prior to release, with handover between the POMs and community offender managers (COMs) taking place seven and a half months before release. High-risk offenders are given priority. CRC staff do not form part of the OMiC structure. One member of staff is based in the OMU but carries out resettlement work. There are two Head of Offender Management Delivery in place. 7.3.3 There is now a full complement of POMs and 2.2 probation officers in post. 7.3.4 There is clearly a shortage of approved premises (AP) places available, with prisoners released on licence taking priority. The provision of approved premises --- (APs) has improved, but allocation can still be challenging. Representatives from APs regularly visit the prison to discuss what is involved in having a place at an AP. 7.3.5 ROTL has been increased over the year, subject to fluctuations in response to the national situation. Before restrictions were lifted, 200 applications had been approved and were ready to go. Subsequently, by mid-May, 340 ROTLs had been activated, with a [...]
